Fifth Cable Cut To Middle East — You may have noticed a number of stories recently about undersea cables getting cut around the world. Apparently the total is now up to 5, but the scariest part of this is that Iran is now offline. You can also read Schneier's comments on this coincidence.

Cable damage hits 1.7m Internet users in UAE — DUBAI — An estimated 1.7 million Internet users in the UAE have been affected by the recent undersea cable damage, an expert said yesterday, quoting recent figures published by TeleGeography, an international research Web site.

Microsoft Bid for Yahoo Drops To $29.50 a Share — As Yahoo waits in vain for other bidders or deal alternatives to emerge, the dissatisfaction of Microsoft investors with the Yahoo bid has reduced the value of Microsoft's offer to $29.50 a share. — Why? — The bid is half-cash / half-stock,

“BigNews”: Ask's Digg Project Revealed (IACI) — Here's the Ask.com/Digg collaboration we'd heard about earlier this week, but it may be less than we'd advertised: “BigNews” is actually more of an attempt to create a new spin on Techmeme/Google News than a ripoff of Digg's social news site.

Apple Plugs QuickTime Malware Installation Hole — The company acknowledges the bug could lead to drive-by malware installations on Windows and Mac machines. — Apple has issued a patch for a high-profile vulnerability in its flagship QuickTime media player, acknowledging that the bug …

Google Likely Out, And Happy — After dominating the U.S. wireless spectrum auction for months, from influencing the terms of the auction to bidding, it looks like Google is off the hook. — Nine days into the closely watched Federal Communications Commission auction …

Video site Revver shopping itself for a song — Revver, a YouTube competitor that made a name for itself by paying video producers, has fallen on hard times. — The company's staff has dwindled to less than half the size it was 18 months ago, according to former employees.

Holographic displays step closer — Holograms could soon be helping monitor surgical procedures after a faster way to make the 3D images is discovered. — The journal Nature reports the breakthrough by US researchers who developed a novel material in which holographs can be created in minutes.

In CBS Test, Mobile Ads Find Users — Pssst, hey you! There's a cheap latte waiting at the coffee shop on the corner! — CBS plans to announce on Wednesday that it is trying one of the first serious experiments with cellphone advertising that is customized for a person's location.

Time Warner may shed AOL unit — Media conglomerate says it may sell part of AOL and spin-off more of Time Warner Cable. Company also sees slower earnings growth in '08. — NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Time Warner's new chief executive officer confirmed Wednesday that the media company …

Why Social Applications Will Thrive In A Recession — Is a recession coming? Don't ask me — I'm not an economist, and even the economists don't really know. But if it's anything like the last recession, advertising will plummet and experimental media will crater.

EA unveils Spielberg's ‘Boom Blox’ for Wii — It's been a long time coming, but we finally have some actual details about the first game to emerge from the partnership between Steven Spielberg and Electronic Arts. — Known as Boom Blox, the game, which will be available in May only on the Wii, is from EA's casual games unit.

Why Windows 7 looks so much like Vista — Last month we posted a video and screenshots of what may or may not be Windows 7, the next version of Microsoft's flagship operating system. The company hasn't confirmed or denied the authenticity of these images, but many readers have been a bit... vocal about their doubts.

MySpace's San Francisco Debut in Living Color! — Last night, BoomTown checked out the new space MySpace is renovating for its soon-to-open San Francisco office. The occasion was a party the social-networking site held for developers as part of its recent platform launch.